Awayonmyboat

The biggest point to remember is water only drains downhill. So make sure you are draining the lowest points of all circulating loops. On my boat that means draining the radiators (which are on one side of the boat) the bathroom towel rail (which is on a long loop on the other side) and the Webasto itself. Whilst it is fair to say all boats are different, as a point of reference mine which is a 58' fairly standard reverse layout with radiators along the length of the boat took 27 litres when I filled it after installation. It is plumbed with the recommended 22mm pipe for the main runs, obviously if your system uses 15 mm throughout that would use quite a bit less.

I had the same problem and found on eBay a fitting described as "Waste adaptor 11/4 inch to 3/4 inch RV, Boat, Caravan". It simply screwed on the base of the waste and provided a 3/4" tail at 90 degrees.

My old Webasto Thermotop C averaged about 0.7 litres an hour over a winter. So at current diesel pricing is say around £1 is a reasonable figure.

A bit of late feedback. A series of Italian tune ups on the river Severn over the last year, seem to have done the trick. Smoke levels now much reduced. My wallet thanks you all.

As a local to Droitwich I can assure you there are plenty of boats that don't fit. I suggest you do not plan and go through if you have any substantial (eg tv antenna, roof boxes) items fixed on your roof. My boat with standard triangular solar panel brackets will just go through most times - but on occasion I have had to send someone forward to the next lock to drop the pound slightly. One also needs to know the culvert roof dips a few centimetres towards the middle so make sure you have a little clearance as you enter. I'll also add the height restriction boards there are reasonably accurate. If they say you don't fit then you probably don't!

I think Tracy had summed up the situation very well (the only point I would quibble with is current valuation - I think £30k is a bit on the low side especially if you are anywhere from Birmingham southwards). The survey reads like the previous owner has stayed on top of any problems. As long as you are true to your words on maintenance, which every two to three years having the boat out of the water and blacked the hull is unlikely to cause you any sudden dramatic problems. A haul out and blacking (and other minor work you get done at the same time like anodes and welding any pits etc) will cost you near £1000 each time - so budget for that and you will probably be fine for many years. As you intend to stay in a marina make sure (double and triple check) the boat has a functioning galvanic isolator fitted, this is critical to minimising the risk of sudden fast corrosion issues. (If it doesn't it is not a deal breaker but is a negotiating point- it will cost a couple of hundred pounds to have one fitted) Given its an older boat in reality all the electrical and mechanical systems on the boat will probably give you more day to day problems than the hull and cost you more in maintenance and upgrades over time. Good luck with your future

The Autoterm silencer supplied with my unit last week is stainless steel, has no condensate drain hole and is fully welded around the edge. I would have no qualms using it even though I didn't as it was easier to connect to the existing silencer used by the Webasto. The Autoterm silencer however does look very similar to the cheap and problematical units MtB refers Regarding the loose fit of the pipes I would agree with this comment. However Autoterm do address this in their instructions and tell you how to resolve it.

Thanks for the feedback. It's good for the positive comments since I took the plunge earlier in the week and bought one. Fitted it yesterday and first impressions are positive. It fitted in easily in place of the failed Webasto (uses exactly the same mounting bolt holes and was relatively easy to adapt all the connections) and appears to work well. The only problem in having at the moment is with the controller in that I can't access the thermostat function. It could be my lack of familiarity but if I don't succeed over the weekend I'll contact Autoterm and see what they say.

Restarting an old thread. Anyone got long-term feedback / user experience with these Planar 5kW units? My 15 year old Webasto Thermotop C needs replacing and I'm looking at this as an option (it is roughly half the cost of the equivalent Webasto unit). I'm particularly interested in reliability in use, noise levels and unexpected issues. Thanks in advance.

I live in a marina which has an "intensive user" category. Around the Midlands many marinas seem to have this category. As others have said the biggest practical restriction is that whilst you can stay on the boat as long as you want you cannot use the marina as an address. This is for around normally by using a friend/ relatives address for those things that require it. Assuming you are happy to pay for a marina / CRT mooring my criteria for choosing would be: - does it have electrical hook-up ( makes life easier, especially in winter) - closeness to a town you like. - good public transport links if you don't own a car.

Thankyou for a honest, useful and informative post. Please keep writing despite any naysayers.

With an older boat you can use it in between the progressive updates of individual rooms or systems. With an empty shell you are really committing yourself to a year or two of solid work until it is cruise capable - unless you are willing to simply camp inside it. Also be aware most marinas are not keen / will not allow you to do major work on the boat whilst on your mooring. You will most likely either have to move it to a dedicated work area on dry land or some where it on the cut (without power). People have successfully done both options. I know I have chosen the rebuild/refit route and been glad I have

I'll try and be a bit more positive! Many people do successfully restore / renovate narrow boats but it is also true many (more) never complete the journey having not realised the amount of work and cost involved. You are doing the right thing, asking now for info before you have a project or even solid ideas. If you follow this through and remain questioning you raise your chances of success. I suggest the following You tube channels: - The Nomadic Crobot, - The boat that James built. Both channels will give you a reasonably unvarnished view of how much work and cost is actually involved in restoring a "project" boat. This site. Just continuously browse it for a few months. You will begin to pick up good info and more importantly start to recognise bad info. There are also some wonderfully experienced people on this site but they are often somewhat understandably frustrated at having the same questions asked - so learn to use the search function. Tony Brookes training notes on plumbing, electrical and the like. Search here on this site for links. Hope this is good for a starter.

I believe the Balmar SG200 is the combination of the Smartgauge and shunt you are referring to. I think I recall reading Balmar obtained the Smartgauge rights from Merlin and from there developed their own product. I have one and over the last two years have found it pretty good at tracking battery State of Charge (using the inbuilt voltmeter and ammeter as a cross check) without any periodic testing required. Note this function users the Smartgauge type algorithm and does not rely on amp hour counting. It also tracks battery State of Health (ie what percentage of original capacity remains) but I cannot comment on this as my batteries are only two years old and still show 100% and behave as though they have not lost any capacity. It also has a voltmeter ( for both domestic and starter battery) and ammeter function. Overall I would recommend the unit, but it is (or at least was) pricey - but batteries are more so. Having said that, now after a couple of years experience managing the batteries I would also be happy with a simple voltmeter and ammeter.

I left my boat there for four days last summer (when you could book extended stays during the City of Culture period) and this year I stayed there for two nights. Both times I've had an enjoyable stay and nil issues. For a city centre mooring it is quiet (quieter than Birmingham or Leicester). It currently seems under used and I would encourage more people to moor there.

As many have said, future guessing boat prices is almost impossible. There are valid arguments for both boat prices rising and equally for falling over the next couple of years. You have to follow your gut instinct. Mine is the market has currently past a peak and will continue to fall slowly for a while because there will be a relative glue of boats due to a mix of distressed sales plus sellers regretting their COVID purchase impulse. For what it's worth here is the price history of my boat (as far as I can tell from the paperwork I have): 2005 bought as a sailaway for£27,000 2007 sold fitted out for £55,000 2008 sold for £28,000 2019 sold to me for £37,000 2020/21 value (at peak of COVID market) high £50,000s maybe even £60,000. Now - based on comparable sales I reckon low to mid £50,000s. So the two major impacts on the value of the boat have been the unpredicted 2008 financial crash and COVID. How good is your crystal ball? My take, is do it now if it's important to you - you cannot predict markets or (more importantly) your future circumstances and health.

All this discussion on radiator corrosion problems occurring caused by water circulating through header tanks has raised some concern about the system on my boat as I have such a header tank. In my case the header tank is sealed with a screw down cap, such that fresh air cannot freely enter it and it must pressurise when the water heats up. It is a standard tank sold for use with Webasto and Erspacher heaters. My understanding from posts I found elsewhere on this site, and Webasto installation instructions, was this type of tank is acceptable and the oxygen mixing problem was only with open topped expansion tanks that had circulation through them. I would appreciate expert views on the acceptability off these sealed expansion tanks so I can decide if I need to get the plumbing tools out this weekend and fit a bypass beneath it. (Apologies for taking the diverting the thread slightly)

I planned to buy a Stirling PSW inverter/ charger to power a similar washing machine. However, on the recommendation of my chandler, I bought a similar one from Photonic Universe because it was roughly half the price. It physically appears to be identical to the Stirling product and the manual seems to be almost word for word the same. The model I bought was the 3000w Low Frequency model which includes a 90amp charger (at the time it was only slightly more expensive than the 2000w model I had planned to buy). Two years on I'm very satisfied with it.

As just use a bit of shim (a sliver of a can or similar) to centralise the stock. On my boat I found the grub screws frequently loosened - a drop of Loctite solved that.

Dont know where you are in the country but Droitwich Spa Marina sells this as an "own brand" (they started getting it made after they could no longer buy it from their normal suppliers). Don't know who makes it for them, but I've used it over the last two years and am very happy with it.

Whilst filing the edge of the propeller might sound a bit like a bodge, it is not. It is commonly done on even large ship propellers which have unexpectedly shown a singing problem. All good propeller textbooks describe this technique since propeller and hull interaction remains an inexact science. I personally have organised it's implementation on several vessels. In a perfect world I would aim for a flat surface about 2-3mm wide angled at about 45degrees on the trailing edge from blade tip down to about 2/3 way to the hub, but in reality the detail is not likely to be critical - just try and keep it consistent between each blade. And as said above, if it only partially addresses the problem, increase the width slightly. Good luck.

The supplier of my new mattress delivered it and took the old one away for a charge of£25. I thought that was a reasonable deal and I believe quite common in the industry (many household also have trouble getting rid of mattresses - most cars will not take one). Maybe search for a shop that will do this. The table, maybe you have to break up and dispose of incrementally.

There is no GRP dust on the inside so that rules out you having upset the neighbours enough that they are attacking your boat with a drill. It's probably been there all your ownership and you just have not noticed it - it is amazing how good the brain is at filtering things so that you see only what you expect to see/want to see.

My vote would be the visitor moorings just after Bridge 56 at Wightwick. As previously mentioned close to Mermaid pub. Also very close to the National Trust property Wightwick Manor which is well worth a visit. No security issues, I left my boat there 2 days last year when I went up to Birmingham.